


the world is cold , but you are so warm , my love

by k5zuwritez



Category: Offline TV - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Campfires, Camping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hiking, Holding Hands, Huddling For Warmth, Insomnia, M/M, POV Third Person, Possibly Pre-Slash, Rating May Change, Sharing a Bed, Sunrises, Tags May Change, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, corpse and sykkuno cant sleep, corpse being supportive, corpse trusts sykkuno a lot, corpsekkuno, covid doesn't exist here, lapslock, neurodivergent coded sykkuno, no real life names used, nonbinary sykkuno!??!?!!!? yes, offlinetv + corpse camping trip, op has a weird typing quirk, sharing a tent ???, sharing blankets, sykkuno and corpse centric, sykkuno being really sweet, sykkuno loves plants, sykkuno uses he/they, useless plant knowledge bc im projecting ok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27408250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/k5zuwritez/pseuds/k5zuwritez
Summary: offlinetv + corpse and others all go on a camping trip. what could go wrong? correction : how much could actually go wrong?everything and nothing , apparently.( lowercase intentional! )
Relationships: Corpse Husband & Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Corpse Husband/ Sykkuno, Sykkuno & OfflineTV, Sykkuno/Corpse Husband
Comments: 61
Kudos: 590





	1. warmth ( 1 )

**Author's Note:**

> waaah i fell into sykkorpse ( corpsekkuno ? ) really hard and i wrote this .. i just think they're really cute!! and there's no good enby / trans representation here without it being overly fetishized so !!! i decided to project and make sykkuno enby. i just think they're neat :] 
> 
> enjoy this first chapter !! :D i didn't beta read any of these myself so apologies for any spelling / grammar mistakes !! also all lowercase is intentional , that's just how i write LFDKSFL
> 
> i hope u enjoy!! <3

  
  
  
“ _what do you mean we don’t have enough blankets? i thought you packed enough!_ “  
  
“ _i thought you were going to do that!_ “

  
  
  


corpse sighed. it wasn’t even an hour into the trip and toast and lily were bickering again. this time about blankets. he sat on the picnic bench that was placed at their campsite , at every site here. and no , he wasn’t sitting on the seat , he was sitting on the actual table. what , it was more comfortable , and offered him a better view of the site and what was around it. he had already scouted out a couple trails that he’d want to go on later , when everything was set up for the night. there was one that he presumed went down to the lake that he wanted to see especially bad. he wondered how cold the lake was -  
  
“ corpse! what are you doing , come on , go help sykkuno set up your guys’ tent! “ a female voice called. he wasn’t sure who that was , he still wasn’t good at remembering all their names. even though there were , like , 8 of them or something. she had faded black - to - blonde hair , though , so he just decided to remember her by that. black and blonde hair girl. yeah. 

he let out an exhale of breath and nodded , hopping off the table with a small noise and dusting his pants off. “ alright , “ he said , and glanced over at sykkuno , who was still reading the instructions for their tent whilst standing in the grass , tilting the piece of paper every which way to try and figure them out. 

he strolled over , noting how long the grass was , it went over his feet , and flattened out when he stepped in certain spots. it tickled up against his ankles sometimes , but he hardly felt it. 

  
  


“ .. i think it goes this way , “ he mentioned to the other , taking a hand and tilting it straight. “ also uh. that’s the french side , you should probably flip it over , “ he laughed. 

there was a stare from sykkuno up at corpse , before they mouthed an “ ohhhh “ and flipped it over , covering their mouth and letting out an awkward laugh. “ thanks , corpse , “ they said , and corpse just smiled. 

“ it’s no problem. uhh … i think .. rae? told me to come over here and help you , so , i guess here i am , “  
  
“ oh , thank you! i mean … i was having a bit of trouble with the instructions .. “ another mouth cover. corpse wondered why they did that so much. “ i guess rae just knew , you know? she does that sometimes , “  
  
“ mm , “ a nod from corpse. “ so i think we should actually get the tent out of the bag and get everything at least laid out , you know? 

“ you’re right , “ sykkuno nodded , picking up the pull bag that supposedly contained everything they needed. “ you’re sure everything is in here? it’s so small .. “  
  
“ you’d be surprised at what they can fit in little bags nowadays , “ a little laugh. “ let’s get started , come on , “ he sat down on the dewy grass below them , patting the space next to him.  
  
  
they sat there struggling on how to put the tent together for a good thirty minutes , but they both ended up figuring it out eventually. sykkuno thought of it as just .. a bonding exercise. i mean , they were going to be sleeping with corpse in the tent they were putting together for the whole week … wait , that sounded wrong. they weren’t sleeping with corpse like that! that was weird. they were just sleeping in a tent together. as friends. yeah. tent mates. friends. 

the tent was finally set up in just under an hour , and yeah , it looked a little shoddy , but they were both proud of it. and now they had to go and get their stuff from their cars.

  
  
corpse was apparently one of the only people that heard toast and lily arguing over the blankets , apparently , because he had to tell sykkuno that. he was surprised , because _god_ were they loud as ever.  
  
“ oh , we can just share , toast , it’s fine! “ they called , and corpse just. nodded. he didn’t really know how he felt about that .. sharing a blanket with sykkuno. he’d just sleep in his clothes on the mattress , he decided. yeah. sykkuno could have the blanket , that was fine.

  
“ .. hey , sykkuno , you can just have the blanket , if you want. i’ll sleep in my clothes. “ he motioned for the other to take the rolled - up blanket in his arms.  
  
“ really? it’s going to be below 50 tonight , are you sure ..? you can take it. i’ll be alright , “  
  
“ no , just take it , these are already really warm , “ he emphasized how warm his clothes were , and pushed the blanket into sykkuno’s arms , not leaving room for any argument. before sykkuno could retaliate , corpse had already left to go get the mattresses that they would be sleeping on that night. they sighed , and tossed the blanket into the tent on their side. there was no use arguing with corpse , he would just make them sleep with it no matter what.

corpse returned with their mattresses and an air pump , one of those hand ones that you had to manually work to make it pump air.  
  
“ .. we have to pump them ourselves? “ sykkuno sighed , just wanting to flop back onto the hard ground and pass out. “ why is there so much work to do .. “ he complained , but then quickly perked up again. “ well , i’m sure it can’t be that bad! “ they said , stepping into the tent and letting corpse get in with the mattresses. 

“ if we just get it done now , we don’t have to do it when we’re _actually_ tired. it’s only 12pm , we still have a whole day .. “ corpse trailed off , “ a whole day .. “ he shook his head a bit , getting the mattresses out of their bags and unrolling them. “ okay , so this one’s yours , “ he said , pushing over a rolled - out and flattened mattress to sykkuno. he also pushed over the air pump. “ you can do yours first , since i still have to get my suitcase , “  
  
there was no use arguing with him , and sykkuno just nodded in compliance and watched as corpse left the tent before beginning to work. 

  
  
  


and work … 

  
  
  


and work. god , this was tiring. it was hardly even halfway! how long had it even been? corpse was taking forever.  
  
meanwhile , corpse was rifling through his car for a suitcase and possibly , possibly a spare blanket. nothing. they’d have to stop at the store at some point and get one. god , his car was a mess. he really needed to clean it at some point … how old was that ketchup packet on the floor? corpse decided he didn’t want to know the answer to that question , and continued looking. 

  
  


sykkuno had finally gotten his mattress inflated and was _still_ waiting for corpse to get back. how long did it take to get a suitcase? oh , he’d be back soon , sy knew. they dug through their own suitcase for a bit before they pulled out a small , leatherback notebook with a piece of ribbon for a bookmark attached to it. it was clearly worn , and well loved , and well , sykkuno loved it. it was their book of plants! filled with all different types of flowers and leaves and plants pressed between the pages , all with different facts about them and their scientific names written at the top of the page in a smooth pen. they were truly excited to go on hikes , because of all of the new plants that they could find and put in their book to write about later that day ... 

they laid back on their mattress and began to flip through the pages , pulling out a pen and looking for any revisions or doodles that they could make on any of them. and there was their favorite! mimosa pudica , or also known as the sleepy plant or touch - me - not -- its leaves collapsed in on it in twos when touched even lightly .. they hadn’t seen one in the wild in a while , they wondered if they would on this trip -- 

a zip on the tent was pulled , and sykkuno almost immediately flipped his book shut and sat up. corpse was back! 

corpse entered the other side of the tent , the one that sykkuno wasn’t on , and placed his suitcase on the side before he stepped in.  
  
“ you’re back! “ chirped sykkuno , and corpse couldn’t help but smile at that. “ what took you so long? “

“ mmhm , “ he hummed out and nodded , taking the air pump. “ i mean , i gave you enough time to get your mattress blown up , so … but if you really want to know , i was looking in my car for my suitcase and _possibly_ an extra blanket , and then toast started talking to me for a bit and i ended up helping him get some stuff out of his car but. now i’m here. “ he said as he took the air pump , beginning to pump up his mattress.  
  
“ oh! if you were helping toast , that’s okay! we all have to help each other out , you know! “ sykkuno smiled , and glanced over at corpse. “ do you want any help with that ? “  
  
“ no , i think i’m good , it shouldn’t take _too long_ \- i think i’ll be fine .. “ he mumbled , continually working the pump up and down. damn , this was hard. not like it would take _long_ \-- it was just hard; lots of effort had to be put into this damned thing to get air into this stupid mattress - he wondered how uncomfortable it would be to just sleep on the floor. he probably wouldn’t sleep much , anyways - he never slept very well in new environments. he never slept well in general , but -- whatever. he could always just sneak out and go on a night hike! it would be lovely , and probably tire him out enough to sleep for at _least_ a couple hours.  
  
he and sykkuno made good conversation while corpse inflated his mattress , sykkuno talking about his trip there and corpse just listening to them speak and adding little jokes or snippets of conversation where he saw fit.  
  
sykkuno seemed .. giddier than they usually did. they talked a lot more , he noticed -- it was different from their personality on stream. but then again , they spent a good bit of their time on stream reading out donations and subscribers. corpse remembered how they said that they felt bad if they didn’t , or they missed a donation , and that they didn’t await the day where they couldn’t read out all of the subscribers. god , they were so nice. they didn’t even need to be - but sykkuno was. he was heart - meltingly kind , like he couldn’t go five minutes without a selfless act of kindness.

he loved that sykkuno was his best friend.

“ - and so that’s how toast forgot the spare blankets at home! at least i think. he’s really forgetful sometimes! “ they finished , flopping back on their mattress. corpse had finished blowing up his at this point , no matter how many times he had gotten distracted by the other’s storytelling.  
  
corpse laughed in response , closing off the mattress and tossing away the pump , seemingly to put away another time. “ huh. he gets conveniently forgetful sometimes , it’s kind of funny , honestly. “ he sighed , sitting himself down on his mattress , this time more to face sykkuno.  
  
“ yeah .. wait. what time is it? i should go ask toast and rae if they need any help setting up for tonight. do you need any help? “  
  
“ no , i should be good .. you can go help toast and rae get set up. i kind of want to go explore some of the trails nearby , see where they lead , and stuff. i’ll be back before it gets dark , don’t worry , “ corpse said. the trails all looked incredibly nice , some less well maintained than others , but still looked like a nice walk. they probably didn’t go too far either , so he would be back before dark , like he told sykkuno.  
  
“ oh , okay! i guess i’ll go help toast then. stay safe! “ sykkuno said while putting away their notebook and pen back into their suitcase , before closing it and opening up the tent again. “ i’ll tell them that you’ll be out hiking , by the way , i’m sure they’d worry if they didn’t know where you were .. “  
  
“ i’ll be fine , sykkuno , really. you don’t need to worry about me , “ he smiled , and sykkuno looked back and nodded , and left the tent. 

  
  


fuck. corpse was _not_ going to be able to last this trip. he already missed being at home a little too much. at least sykkuno was there. he got to spend time with sykkuno. that was good. sykkuno. and being alone. and going on that hike. he should probably do that now , they’re probably already with the group and doing stuff. he should just. go.

  
  


the hike was long. longer than corpse expected , but welcome nonetheless. he got to look at all the different flowers and plants that lined the trail , and how the november leaves fell on him as he walked , crunching under his feet. it was relaxing. it also gave him time to think. something he did a lot , but never really .. got into. it was just a mix of jumbled words all together that sometimes formed coherent sentences. usually bad sentences. and song lyrics. that were bad sentences turned into song lyrics. he wrote them down sometimes , for future songwriting purposes. 

all in all , the weather was nice , though , and it was a surprisingly warm week for fall , with only cool breezes blowing in corpse’s face every couple of minutes. they were relaxing when he got too warm. even though he was cold. he was cold all the time , no matter what. it was still nice , though. he didn’t mind being cold , because when it was warm , it wasn’t horribly warm for him. he wondered how warm the rest of them were .. he wondered how warm sykkuno was. he looked warm , warm and soft was how he would describe them. but also cold , but not really cold. only their hands would be cold. ah , he shouldn’t be thinking about that anyways. just focus on the walk. just relax. he was almost to the lake , anyways. or that’s at least what he presumed.

and he would be right , because not 20 minutes later , corpse came upon a cliffside that offered a lovely view of the water , the late sun beaming down on it and reflecting off of the water like crystals. it was getting late again .. had corpse really been out for that long? he should get back. but the water was relaxing. peace. something that couldn’t hurt him. something that didn’t really move , or attack him. it was calming , the water lapping lightly against the rocky shore , creating little ripples in the water. he sat down on the cliffside , letting his feet dangle off the ledge as he sat there , his mind calmed and almost emptied out by the soft splashing of the water below him.

  
  


he should get back soon. 

  
  


.. ..

  
  
  


and .. everything looked good for tonight. well , it was all there , at least. guarantee that toast and michael wouldn’t burn it? not exactly. this was their first time cooking over an open fire. all of them. at least they had popcorn , just in case they burned the hot dogs or something. hot dogs weren’t that hard to cook , right? it’s like , the classic campfire thing. how could they mess it up? everything was good and in place. everyone was there … well , almost everyone.

where was corpse? he’d been gone for hours at this point , he said he wouldn’t be too long , but it was almost sunset , and he wasn’t back yet. sykkuno knew that he said not to worry , and to just have fun , but … they couldn’t help it. he’d been gone for so long , it had been hours … they looked around the campsite , scanning for any sign of corpse. 

  
  
.. no , he wasn’t in the tent , or in the parking lot of the campsite , or by the fire when sykkuno checked again. where was he?  
  
“ sykkuno , what are you looking for? you’ve been running around like that , did you lose something? “ lily called from the fire. 

“ oh , no , i’m not looking for something , just .. corpse said he’d be back now , you know. it’s late , the sun is gonna set and i’m worried that he’s lost or something - “  
  
“ i’m sure he’s fine. you know how he is on walks .. come on , come sit by the fire already! it’s suuper toasty , “ and sykkuno sighed at that. they were worried about corpse , but .. he’d be fine. yeah. he’d be alright! corpse would know to not get lost. so , with that in mind , sykkuno made their way back over to the fire , pulling up a lawn chair and sitting down in it. toast was telling some sort of dumb scary story , and everyone was listening so .. they decided to just listen and look out for corpse every once in a while.

  
  


eventually , corpse did show up , right before sunset. he looked .. sad. he had those sad , tired eyes that always seemed to be cast downwards at his feet. did those eyes ever light up with joy? could they? sykkuno longed to see corpse smile. they wanted to see his eyes light up and they wanted to see them light up with pure joy. how could they get them to light up , though , was a different question.  
  
“ corpse! “ they called , and noticed how corpse perked up at his name , and then how his eyes immediately settled on sykkuno. 

he stood close by the rest of the group , his lips curving into a soft smile. “ hey , sykkuno. hi , guys , “  
  
“ corpse! you’re back , “ toast paused in his storytelling to greet corpse with a smile , and corpse looked over for a moment. “ sykkuno was worrying their poor head off about you. glad to know you’re okay , “ he laughed , and sykkuno looked away and covered their mouth with their hand , like they usually did.  
  
“ look , i just didn’t want you - i didn’t want you lost or anything , okay , “ they used a laugh to cover up their words a bit awkwardly , looking down and back up again.  
  
“ it’s okay , i got distracted. spent more time than i should have , you know? at least i’m here now. “ corpse said , pulling up a chair next to sykkuno and sitting down. “ i don’t think i’m gonna go hiking the rest of the night , though , so you don’t need to worry about me anymore , “  
  
  
there was an agreeing chime from the group , and sykkuno nodded. and toast got back to telling his stories by the fire while they made hot dogs ( which of corpse and sykkuno’s were only slightly burnt , mind you ) , and all chatted around the fire. they even made s’mores , which. well , sykkuno lost their marshmallow once or twice in the fire , and had to go ask michael to get them another one in pure shame while corpse laughed at their misfortune. 

  
  
“ hey! how would you like it if someone laughed at your marshmallow falling? “  
  
“ i’d probably laugh too , and you dropped yours _twice_ , “  
  
“ i’m clumsy , leave me alone! “ 

  
  


and the night drug on , getting colder and colder with each passing hour. it was dark , with the fire keeping the area in which they sat brightly illuminated , but even then , it slowly became dimmer with the hours as well. slowly , the members of offlinetv began to drop off , each of them either becoming tired or just not wanting to be by the fire anymore. it got quieter and quieter , and eventually even sykkuno said that they were tired , and headed off to their shared tent. leaving corpse alone. 

he watched as the fire crackled and sparked every which way , whipping it’s orange hot flames around in the breezy air. he wasn’t tired. not yet , at least. it was only 11pm. it was too early to go to sleep. 

he decided to just watch the fire until it burned out. then he would go back to the tent. everything was already cleaned up , so he would just turn off the lamp on the picnic table and let the fire burn out , which took a little longer than he expected , but corpse didn’t care too much. 

  
  


eventually , though , it did burn out. and he watched as the ashes singed and turned into black pieces of charcoal at the bottom of the pit. and that was when he decided to get up , and head back to the tent , where sykkuno was probably asleep. 

corpse remembered that he didn’t have any blankets. he gave them to sykkuno , and fuck , they were right , it was so cold. he was cold. guess he’d just have to bundle up , corpse thought , as he stepped into the tent and onto his mattress , laying his head on the cushy pillow. he couldn’t help it as he watched the other person in the tent sleep , how their chest rose up and down noticeably in the darkness , and how they stirred and shifted every so often.

  
  


they looked so comfortable. maybe he should have kept the blanket. but then sykkuno would be cold. he didn’t want sykkuno to be cold , that wouldn’t be good. it was good that sykkuno had the blanket. they were comfortable , and that’s what mattered.

  
  


corpse shifted around on his mattress in the cold darkness , shivering with each passing half hour. he couldn’t sleep like this even if he wanted to. god. it was so fucking cold he could have sworn he saw his breath once or twice.

  
  


.. ..

  
  


sykkuno wasn’t sleeping. not one bit. well , kind of. 

they’d more or less call it napping , with the way he could hear corpse shift around and try and get comfy on his mattress , and the sounds of the rustling trees , and the wind moving and blowing all against their tent. it was calming , but they just … couldn’t sleep. even with the blanket , it was cold. and corpse. he wouldn’t stop _moving_. sykkuno felt horrible , that they should have just let corpse have the blanket. but corpse let them have it. so they shouldn’t feel bad .. but they did. they didn’t want corpse to be cold. 

  
  


At some point , sykkuno turned to look at corpse , who was curled up on the mattress and visibly shivering.

  
  


sykkuno felt horrible about it. they wanted to do something about it.

  
  


and they did something they thought they’d never do.

  
  


sykkuno moved over to corpse , wrapping the blanket around the both of them and their arms around his chest , burying their face in his shoulder to keep him warm. corpse was .. really cold , admittedly. but that was probably because he was laying in just his clothes and , well , complete cold. they hoped that this would keep him warm for the night. they hoped.

corpse’s heart rate couldn’t have increased faster at that , when he felt the way that sykkuno just … fit against him. they were so comfy to be next to. the way that they nuzzled into his shoulder , their arms around his chest , and with no warning , too. it made butterflies pool in corpse’s stomach and throat , and his body feel fuzzy , both feelings he wouldn’t question until the next morning. 

he moved his arms to wrap around sykkuno’s smaller frame , and kept them pulled close for the night. 

maybe he could get to sleep like this , corpse thought. sykkuno was so warm , and so comfortable to just hold. they fit so well against him , like two halves of one whole. and the way they just … did that. he was sure it was out of some sort of need to help corpse. a selfless deed. 

  
  


and apparently sykkuno thought the same about falling asleep , because he felt their breathing calm and settle out again within minutes of cuddling with the male. 

  
  


corpse sighed , and he realized how tired he felt , feeling his eyelids droop. he felt his body relax around the warmth , around sykkuno , and he fell asleep.

  
  
  


he was at peace.


	2. roses ( 2 )

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> last night was .. definitely something. but otherwise that , all of them were going on a hiking trip today! wouldn't that be fun. 
> 
> and toast and rae are already betting over sykkuno and corpse's relationship. nice.

it wasn’t long before morning came again , and sykkuno and corpse were still peacefully asleep in their tent , cuddled together , legs tangled and arms wrapped around each other sweetly. the two of them were both quite oblivious to the world around them , almost lost in each other. 

  
  


corpse remembered waking up once or twice in the night , but he felt the weight and warmth of the sleeping sykkuno cuddled up with him and subsequently didn’t move. the feeling of someone else with him was so comfortable , it almost lulled him right back to sleep. almost everyone thought he would be the first up in the morning , sitting by the fire. but they both turned up to be the last. 

toast actually went in once or twice to check in on them , saw them cuddled up like that under the blanket , smiled and let out a barely audible “ aww , “ and left the tent promptly to let them rest. he simply told the others that they were still sleeping. which _was_ true. he just left out the part where they were cuddling. 

i mean , it was cute , what could he say. maybe he’d spill it later when they both were actually awake and ready.

  
  
  
  


of the two of them , corpse was , unsurprisingly , the first to wake , this time deciding not to go back to bed. the bright sun cast dazzling rays through the trees and shone into their tent , casting a small bit of humidity that he didn’t mind. he felt sykkuno’s sleeping body against him , face buried against the fabric of his hoodie and softly snoring every once in a while. 

objectively , it was cute. sykkuno was cute. but the moment didn’t last very long , as corpse shifted restlessly and let go of sykkuno to stretch , which caused them to stir and promptly wake up. 

they muffled a yawn , eyelids fluttering for a minute as they fell out of dreamland and into real life once more , cuddled against corpse’s body and hanging on comfortably. they stifled their squeaking as they shifted into a better position , stretching their limbs a bit before clinging back onto corpse. 

“ morning , sleepyhead , “ corpse hummed , which frankly startled sykkuno , waking them right up.   
  
“ o - oh , morning , corpse! “ their voice shook a bit , rougher and scratchier than usual with the morning. “ i .. i forgot you sounded like that .. “ they mumbled sheepishly.   
  


corpse just laughed softly , and untangled himself from sykkuno , leaving them to lay on the mattress and stretch out the remaining pins and needles in their arms. he didn’t mention how they were cuddled , and sykkuno certainly didn’t , either. maybe they didn’t want to , he never knew.  
  


“ i think everyone forgets how i sound at some point - “ corpse stretched a bit more and yawned , something he didn’t do often. “ - especially in the morning. you’re not the only one to forget , “ another sleepy laugh.

  
“ y - yeah , “ they said , pushing the blanket off of them and to the side , going to their actual mattress without another word. god .. did they .. did they really cuddle for the whole night?   
  
and then they remembered , suddenly , wrapping their blanket around corpse and latching onto him like the world was going to end and then the realization hit them like a truck. 

holy - sykkuno wasn’t one to swear but - shit. holy shit. that happened , that happened --   
  


corpse , on the other hand , was still trying to process that fuzzy feeling that he felt in the pit of his stomach , the butterflies climbing up his esophagus and into his mouth , threatening to spill right out. sykkuno , cuddled up to him like that in the morning , clutching onto him , reluctant to let go - 

he was sure it was nothing. they must have just been comfortable , right? nothing deeper than that. he was overthinking it , there was no way sykkuno would actually - 

yeah. there was no way. sykkuno didn’t. they were just his friend! nothing more. yep. yeah. yes. that’s how it was. they were just best friends. really close best friends.

  
  
  


it wasn’t really long before corpse was ready to step out. i mean , he did sleep in his clothes , and all he really had to do was get some socks and shoes on -- he would just change later , he decided. besides , sykkuno had to get changed - he should offer them some privacy ; maybe , while he was at it , he could get to know the rest of the group better.

he stepped out into the grass , which was noticeably dewy and wet on his boots as he made his way up to the campfire , where he was greeted with a warm welcome from toast and the rest of the group.   
  
  
“ morning , corpse! sleep well? “ rae ( at least he thought that was her name ) asked brightly , and corpse nodded as he took a chair by the fire.   
  
“ yeah , i did. did you guys already have breakfast .. ? uhh , what time is it - “ he patted his pants for a moment , looking for his phone before he realized it was still in the tent , with sykkuno.   
  
“ it’s 11:30 am , “ toast replied matter - of - factly. “ you and sykkuno really slept in for a while , you slept through breakfast - i think that’s a record for you. “ 

“ mmhm , “ he agreed sleepily. “ what did you guys have? is there leftovers? “   
  
“ well , we made pancakes -- a little burnt , and plain , but it’s food! we’re going to go into town today anyways , we need wood for the fire , and blankets , right? _toast_ forgot to bring enough , “ rae said , and corpse laughed again. softly , but it was a laugh. toast laughed too , but more awkwardly as rae stared him down from across the fire.

“ cool , “ he replied , before heading over to the picnic table where a couple of pancakes were neatly stacked on a paper plate. a little burnt , like rae said , but they still looked good. he took a paper plate and a fork , grabbing one and leaving the rest for sykkuno to take if he wanted to. he wasn’t that hungry anyways. 

corpse plopped himself right back down in his chair and began eating while the others chatted. so far , from just listening to their conversation , he had come to know a michael , rae , lily , yvonnie , and a scarra. poki talked maybe once or twice , but he already knew her from playing with her so often , and watching her streams. he just didn’t bother to learn the names of the rest of them , he figured that he’d remember them eventually. he was forgetful.

it wasn’t long before sykkuno popped out of the tent , sporting an oversized baby blue hoodie and sweatpants for the cool morning. they made their way over to the fire , and were greeted by the others with warm smiles and waves.  
  
“ morning , sykkuno! “ chirped lily , from her side of the fire. she was still eating.

“ haha , morning , guys , “ sykkuno smiled back , hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie.   
  
“ morning , sykkuno , “ toast hummed out , staring up at them with a teasing smile. “ you and your _boyfriend_ sleep well together? “ _shoot. he knew._

sykkuno went red - faced immediately , covering his mouth as he tried to stutter out an answer. “ i -- i - “ the rest of the members ‘ ooh ‘ ed teasingly , toast smiling up at sykkuno with a smug glint in his eyes. “ c - corpse? he’s not my boyfriend - i don’t know what you’re talking about! “  
  
“ are you _sure_ ? i mean , you guys looked _pretttty_ comfy when i went to go wake you up , you’re lucky i left you - “   
  


corpse almost spat out his pancake.

  
“ _he’s not my boyfriend!_ “ they spluttered out , letting out a shaky breath. they knew toast was just teasing , he usually did that , but -- corpse and them weren’t dating. he knew that. they were just best friends. that cuddled last night. “ we’re just friends. he was cold last night , and you know how there was only one blanket -- “   
  
“ hmm , i could have sworn he gave that to you! you’re writing your own fanfiction at this point , “ rae teased from her seat.   
  
“ he did , he did -- ! but i just -- i felt bad that he was cold , i mean , he was shivering in his clothes … why are you guys teasing me?? it’s not like we _kissed_ or anything - “   
  
“ mhmm , sure , sure , sykkuno. “ toast replied , loving the tormented expression on the poor boy’s face. all corpse could do was listen , frozen like a deer in headlights , his heart pounding loud enough to drown out the words. holy shit. holy shit holy shit _holy shit_ . “ by the way sykkuno , “ toast interrupted his spiral , “ if you’re hungry , pancakes are on the table. “ he winked , as if corpse needed another reason to be red. the topic of conversation diverged once more.   
  
sykkuno awkwardly walked over to the table and picked up the remaining pancakes on the plate before deciding to just grab the plate and a fork and sit down next to corpse and eat their food. god , they were so embarrassed. toast didn’t have to say that! why did he have to go _there_? of course he was a huge tease , but -- that was so uncalled for! that was just -- just - 

anyways .. they were talking about something else now, it was fine! they probably forgot about it. it was okay , no big deal. corpse and them were just best friends! best friends , that’s all it would ever be. they sighed at the thought and set out to finish their pancakes before they got soggy.

  
  


after both the pair had finished breakfast , there was a moment where rae and toast got into an argument over who should go into town , and when they would go too -- before lily decided that her and michael would go together instead , tired of their whining. besides , only two people needed to go anyway. 

sykkuno and lily began talking about genshin impact again , and corpse just sat there , awkwardly , picking at his food. he was almost glad he didn’t have to speak to anyone. before corpse agreed to come , sykkuno made it clear that he only had to talk if he was comfortable , and right now he thought that them thinking ahead was a godsend. it was overwhelming sometimes , especially with all of them yelling across the fire and every time he tried to engage with toast and the others , he was shut out by a new topic that he didn’t understand. 

he wasn’t really that hungry anyways - it would be okay. besides , you learned a lot from just listening. which is what he did a lot of while playing among us. listen , learn , watch - and gather clues as to who the impostor was. yeah. all he needed to do was absorb. right? it was times like these when he felt like he was the imposter...

but this was real life , not a video game - and there was no impostor. they were all friends. he couldn’t help feeling that way though , sometimes. he just -- didn’t fit in.

..

at least he had sykkuno. he could talk to sykkuno , yeah! but sykkuno was talking with lily , and they were getting a little heated over which main was the best. he never played genshin , he wasn’t really into that style of stuff - but he guessed it was a worthwhile conversation to tune into while the others talked about , well , whatever they were talking about. 

fuck. his phone was in the tent , and even then , it was probably dead , and no service , too , so - he’d just have to listen. it couldn’t be that bad.

  
  


corpse ended up learning a lot about genshin impact that he didn’t plan on learning that day. 

on the bright side , they were planning on going on some sort of hiking trail that rae found late last night after lily and michael got back from being in town! sykkuno seemed excited about that. excited enough to awkwardly tap him on the shoulder , covering their mouth. “ corpse , corpse! “  
  
“ mm? “ he looked up from his plate , staring at the person next to him. their eyes seemed bright , eyes brimming with ..passion? “ hey , sykkuno. what’s up? “   
  
“ we’re going on a hike! we get to see all of the plants in the area , i wonder how many new or different plants we’ll find , and there’ll probably be more to learn , and -- oh , i’m sorry , you probably don’t want to hear .. “ sykkuno perked up , and then trailed off again , suddenly realizing how excited they were. “ i , uh .. nevermind , nevermind … you looked busy anyways! “ 

“ wait , it’s okay , if you want to talk to me about plants , sykkuno , that’s totally fine. “ corpse said , smiling softly at the other seated next to him. they seemed so happy about it , how couldn’t he let them talk about it? not to say their excitement was just plain adorable.  
  
“ oh .. “ sykkuno covered their mouth with their hand again , glancing off to the side as they were seemingly embarrassed. “ i , uhm - if you really want to , i mean , uh , you don’t have to - “

  
“ no , it’s okay. i like to hear you talk. “ corpse smiled kindly , and a pit of regret immediately pooled inside of him. fuck , that sounded so wrong. fuck fuck fuck. “ i mean , -- that didn’t sound right , shit - “ panic , panic , panic -   
  
“ no , no , it’s alright , “ sykkuno covered their mouth with a little laugh , waving their hand in corpse’s direction. “ i think it’s nice that you like to listen to me talk. really , it’s -- it’s kind of endearing , to be honest , “ a shy , sweet smile curled on their lips , and corpse felt that fuzzy feeling creep up on him again.

“ o - oh , i … i guess i never thought of it like that. i’m glad you find it endearing … ? “ god , corpse could not accept compliments for the life of him. he was , to put it simply , a bumbling idiot.

“ it’s no problem! uhh .... i’m glad that you like listening to me talk .. ? “ sykkuno awkwardly said , tucking their hair behind their ear , almost subconsciously. “ i can k - keep going , if you’d like - but i think we should get ready for the hike. and you need to change , didn’t you sleep in those? “ corpse saw right through their disguise ; they were distracting themselves with other things because they felt like they were annoying him , and that was the last thing sykkuno would want to do. he was absolutely spot-on. even when corpse said that he wasn’t bothered and he _liked_ listening to sykkuno talk , they still felt doubt pool up in their head like a faucet that had a constant leak , and needed to be fixed.

corpse laughed and nodded a bit. “ yeah , you’re right , i should change -- i probably smell like shit , too. i’ll , uh , do that right now , if you don’t need the tent - “ he got up from his chair , the fabric squeaking underneath him as he got up.   
  
“ okay! i’ll be right by the fire , if you need anything , you can just call me! “ admittedly , corpse didn’t smell _that_ bad to sykkuno , but that was probably just them. frankly , they thought he smelled nice. they didn’t say that out loud , though , as corpse was already making his way over to the tent and they didn’t exactly want to announce he loved - _liked_ his best friend’s smell to the rest of the group. 

corpse got changed after digging through his suitcase for any suitable outfit , and ended up deciding on just a hoodie and some ripped jeans. the boots that he had on would be fine for the hike , he didn’t think that it would be too terribly heavy. the area they were staying in really didn’t have much elevation , he would be okay. he stuffed all the clothes he dug through back into his suitcase , too lazy to actually fold them properly. it was okay. he put his facemask on , and the eyepatch , too , you know. just in case. 

  
  
  


he headed back out to the fire , and sat down in his chair again , next to sykkuno , who was scrolling idly through their phone , looking at the trail map with toast over their shoulder , pointing to where they were going on a miniature map of what he could only assume was the park. right , fuck. his phone … he’d ask sykkuno to get it when they went back to the tent. 

“ hey , syk , you can go and get whatever you want from the tent now , if you need anything. could you , uh , also get my phone , too? it’s in the side tent pocket , if that isn’t too much .. “ he added on , looking away..

“ oh! okay , sure , corpse! i’ll be right back , “ and off they went. they didn’t need very much , so they didn’t pack very much. just a small backpack with a pencil case and their plant notebook , a hat , along with a half - full water bottle . what else were they missing …

oh , right! corpse’s phone! it was in the tent pocket , right?   
  
sykkuno rifled through each pocket until they dug out his phone , which was neatly tucked away in a pocket with a charger and a pair of seemingly chewed - up earbuds. they grabbed the phone and the earbuds , leaving the charger and grabbing their bag on their wayout the tent , making their way back to corpse. he seemed to be staring up at the rustling leaves of the trees , watching as they fell , occasionally shivering with the breeze. it was admittedly amazing weather for fall , it just got cold at night. they were glad that toast and the others chose this week to go camping. 

  
  
  


sykkuno plopped themselves down in their chair , setting their bag down next to them. “ i’m back! and here’s your phone. i got your earbuds , too , just in case - “ they handed over the black phone and earbuds to corpse , and he took them with a grateful nod.   
  
“ thanks , “ he said , and his eyes curved up with the tease of a smile. sykkuno loved that so much , for some reason. he had such sad eyes , always downcast and worried about something , but on this trip in particular he had started noticing how they seemed to light up around them. it was … cute , admittedly. in a friend way , of course .. they weren’t trying to be weird or anything!   
  
“ you’re welcome , “ they returned the small smile themself.. “ it’s no problem , really. “   
  
corpse laughed as he attempted to turn it on. “ i figured as much , “ he said , “ now let’s see if it actually turns on. i don’t know if i charged it , at least i have a spare cable in my car - “ 

a small symbol flashed up on screen , the apple one. corpse sighed in relief. “ fuck yeah , “ he breathed , head tilting upwards for a moment. “ .. by the way , did lily and micheal leave while i was changing? i don’t see them anywhere. “  
  
“ yeah , i think they did. they should be back soon , though! they said they wouldn’t be more than an hour. at least i think … “

“ okay , cool. so now we just wait , i guess? “  
  
“ yeah! oh , do you want to hear about plants now? i don’t think anyone else but us is out of their tents right now … they won’t mind , “   
  


corpse smiled , his eyes wrinkling up a little bit as he shifted his body to face sykkuno. “ absolutely , “ he said. “ spill all you want. “   
  
“ o - okay! “ they covered their mouth for a moment , before digging through their bag and pulling out their plant book , opening it carefully to the first page where a few dry purple flowers were pressed flat.. “ this is my plant notebook! i have different leaves and flowers pressed in between the pages , and all of them are different! let me find my favorites … “ sykkuno began flipping through the pages a little excitedly , and corpse couldn’t help but watch. it was almost .. cute how they got so excited about it. he’d rarely seen sykkuno that … emotional about things , as he usually hid his feelings behind his hands. 

“ here’s one of my favorite plants! i can’t choose a favorite , so i have multiple .. i got a little clip of it from the one in my apartment , it’s called a snake plant , or dracaena trifasciata , but it has a lot of other names too. it purifies the air around you , and is a great plant for clean air! it actually also flowers when it is continually stressed , which i have right here -- “ they pointed to a small , thinly petaled white flower stalk , with a pale green stem and slightly yellow interior. “ this doesn’t hurt the plant at all , by the way! they are perfectly natural and okay. it may be decades before it flowers again , though .. it’s interesting , though! i like it a lot! .. “ sykkuno began flipping to another page as corpse propped an elbow up on his chair , leaning his cheek against his fist. 

god , he’d never seen sykkuno so excited to talk about something. and he loved it. 

“ this is my favorite flower! it’s called a hydrangea , its scientific name is actually the same as its name! i only have the blue variation here , and it’s only one of the flowers in a bundle , but it still looks neat! i actually .. i uh , i have a sketch of the full thing here! “ they scanned the page for a minute before pointing to a neat sketch of a hydrangea , showing it to corpse with excited eyes. “ if there was any tattoo i could get , i think it would be of this one. no color , though! i don’t like needles very much , i don’t think i’d be able to do much more than simple linework .. hydrangeas require a lot of water , as well , but not too much , or else you could overwater them! “ they trailed off. “ did you know that hydrangeas actually mean things? there’s a whole flower language , i think i have the definition for a hydrangea in the back of my notebook , let me look …. “

corpse watched as sykkuno flipped quickly through the pages , eyes intent as they scanned the pages until they found the one with all the definitions. “ oh , here it is! hydrangea … there are different meanings for each of their colors! uhm , pink means emotion! like love , heartfelt emotion or love. blue means frigidity , but it can also mean apology … white means bragging , or boasting about something , and purple means a desire to deeply understand … all very different meanings. i wonder what flowers i’ll find out here when we hike today! “ they continued , and corpse listened intently , letting the other ramble on and on , afraid if he interrupted that they might stop. they looked so happy... he never really was a huge plant person , but sykkuno was definitely making him consider changing that.

they went on and on for a good hour , until at last micheal and lily were back. and corpse listened to all of it , took it all in gladly.   
  
“ hey , guys , we’re back! we got everything that you guys needed. and extra blankets! “ lily called. “ you guys will have to help us get it all out , though. “ lily said , stepping out of their car.   
  
“ corpse , you’re helping whether you want to or not! you’re probably one of the strongest here , no arguing , “ rae called from her tent , and corpse sighed.   
  
“ is this just because i lift weights? “   
  
“ yes! now go help , silly! “   
  
corpse sighed and got up , patting sykkuno gently on the shoulder. “ hey , syk. i gotta go help with getting stuff from the car. you coming to help? you can get the groceries if you want. “ 

they perked up in response to this , glancing at corpse. “ oh , uh , sure! i’m not the _strongest_ in the group , but i might as well help .. “ they laughed , covering their mouth for a minute , closing the notebook and tucking it neatly away in their pack. 

the two of them both made their way up to the car , helping michael and lily unpack while making small conversation. corpse helped with getting the wood out of the back , and sykkuno helped with groceries and other small pieces of wood , less heavy things. it didn’t take very much time as the rest of the group slowly contributed , and in no time flat they had everything in its place around the campsite. 

corpse sighed as he set the last log down in the pile , dusting the sawdust and any possible bugs that may have hitched a ride from his hands.   
  
“ hey .. corpse , uh , thought you’d want to know this , but uh. you’ve got a pretty big spider on your back , buddy … “ sykkuno pointed out , staring at the daddy longlegs that decided to perch on corpse’s hoodie , right below his shoulder blade.   
  
“ .. uh. can you get that off for me , please? i don’t mind spiders , but please get him off. “   
  
“ o - okay! “ sykkuno quickly picked up a well - sized stick and inched it to the spider , cooing to it gently. “ come on , buddy , i’m gonna get you in a better place. just get on the stick , please? “   
  
corpse laughed. “ i don’t think it can understand you. “

  
  


  
after a good minute of the spider inching its way up corpse’s back and further from the stick that sykkuno was generously offering ( and corpse’s internal panic growing ) , it finally decided to get on the stick , and sykkuno smiled triumphantly. “ got it! it’s all okay now , come on , buddy , let’s get you on the grass … “ it was a fairly big spider , but sykkuno seemed to be unfazed as they gently shook the small friend off the stick. scratch fairly, that was a _big fucking spider_ . how were they so calm about it? what the fuck???   
  
“ c .. cool. neat. great , “ corpse said , beginning to brush his hands all over his hoodie nervously. he fucking hated spiders. 

sykkuno noticed his discomfort immediately , rushing back over to put a hand on his shoulder lightly. “ are you okay? hey , corpse , it’s alright .. the spider’s gone now! it’s on the grass , and i didn’t see any others on you. you’re okay , it’s okay , “ they were too close , _why did they get this close?_ their hand awkwardly tightened on the taller’s shoulder. corpse flinched , but slowly relaxed into sykkuno’s touch. it was just sykkuno. it was alright. 

  
“ .. yeah. sorry , i don’t like spiders very much. “ he mumbled after a bit , folding his arms to hug himself. 

“ oh , oh no , that’s fine! there’s no more spider though , i promise. he’s gone now! “ sykkuno reassured , patting his shoulder gently. “ it’s not gonna hurt you , mhm? “   
  
“ not anymore. thanks for helping me out , though , i wouldn’t have realized otherwise. “   
  
“ yeah. “

  
  


there was a beat of silence between the two of them , before rae popped up out of seemingly nowhere , a godsend in breaking the tension that was building. “ hey guys! how are you two doing? “ she chirped with a smile curved plainly on her lips. “ ready for the hike? i’m sure it’ll be fun! “   
  
“ oh , yeah , i’m ready , for sure! how long is the trail? “ sykkuno inquired.   
  
“ uhhh …. i think it’s about 5 miles or something? not horrible , and it’s well walked , too , so it shouldn’t be horrible to hike. great view at the end , too , i’ve heard. “   
  
“ sounds good! “ they replied , nodding and looking over to corpse. “ you’re ready , right , corpse? “   
  
“ yeah , 5 miles doesn’t seem too bad .. just … how are all nine of us going to get there ? “ he asked. fuck , was he going to have to drive again? probably. well , driving wasn’t horrible , he drove here , it’s just .. he wasn’t the best with passengers.   
  
“ well , we’re going to be taking cars , obviously -- uhh , toast will drive you , sykkuno , me , and scarra , and lily , michael , and yvonnie will be together. “ rae explained , counting the people out like tallies on her fingers.   
  
“ oh. okay. cool. “ well , at least he wasn’t driving. he would just probably have to be cramped in the back. cool. that was tolerable , i mean , he could just listen to music and tune out the others. he had his phone and shit , so that should be fine.   
  
“ okay , sounds good! how long is the trip there? “ sykkuno asked.   
  
rae thought for a moment. “ uhhh , around 20 minutes, maybe 30? i think? that’s what toast said at least. “ a car door slammed in the distance, and she whipped around and perked up when she heard toast honk from the driver’s seat. “ i think we’re going now , so you should get your stuff together and get in the car -- speaking of which , i promised i’d help toast pack. bye , guys! “ and off rae went , over to the cars , her steps crunching in the grass and onto the asphalt.   
  
“ .. well then , “ corpse chuckled , tipping back on the balls of his feet. “ i guess we’re going now. that was pretty fast. uhh , you should get your bag , it’s by the fire , right? i don’t think you’d want to forget that. “ he noted. “ i don’t have much i want to bring , i think i should be fine with my phone and stuff. “   
  
“ oh , you’re right! let me go grab that really fast , i’ll .. be right back! “ sykkuno rushed off towards their camp chair for a moment , picking up the soft olive green backpack and putting it on before making their way back to corpse. “ okay , uhh. you ready to go now as well? i’m pretty sure toast is by the car , and i think rae called shotgun already. “   
  
“ yeah , i don’t mind sitting in the back , i should be fine. i am _not_ taking the middle seat though , i always hit my head on the roof then. “ corpse declared , letting out a small laugh when sykkuno feigned surprise. the two of them made their way to the car and climbed into the back row.

yvonnie had right backseat , and corpse took left backseat , leaving sykkuno to sit in the middle , no matter how much they protested that yvonnie would fit so much better between them.  
  
“ you snooze , you lose! “ rae chimed from the front seat. sykkuno sighed , and reluctantly took the middle seat , quickly becoming awkwardly squished against corpse once they got settled. this was going to be a long ride , whether they liked it or not.

corpse took note of sykkuno pressing up against him , and oh boy there was that sweet little fuzzy feeling again as sykkuno shifted in his spot to get more comfortable. he wondered what that feeling was , because sykkuno and him were just friends. just friends! best friends! that’s all they had ever been, right? corpse didn’t like .. guys? sykkuno wasn’t exactly a guy , so … that rose some complications. 

well , that wasn’t _his_ problem , because he wasn’t in love with sykkuno either! they were his best friend and he was sure that was all sykkuno thought of him anyways. 

  
  
  


eventually , the car started , and they were on the road , gently bumping along as the other four in the carbegan talking with each other about some topic corpse didn’t really care about as he stared off into the vast , blurry treeline. god , was fall gorgeous out here. he was sure the rest of them agreed. corpse , eventually , got tired of listening to them talk , and put in his headphones , muffling the chipper voices. he was glad he downloaded some music and stuff to listen to on his phone , as he pulled it out and found the playlist he made , pressing play and continuing to zone out and stare at the trees and nature whizzing by. 

he felt sykkuno lean against him a little more , casually resting their head against corpse’s shoulder like it was nothing. corpse shifted a little and smiled at the feeling , his lips hidden by his face mask. shit , sykkuno was as warm as ever and holy hell their hair was soft. how were they so forward about what they wanted? a million thoughts whirred through corpse’s head like a swarm of gnats , nagging and persistent. 

  
  


he didn’t have a crush on sykkuno.

  
  
  


the rest of the car trip continued like normal , with corpse listening to music and staring out the window , sykkuno talking softer than when he started and remaining stock still , unmoving from the taller’s shoulder. it was probably just so their head wouldn’t hit the roof. but syk was 5’6 , surely that wouldn’t be an issue for them .. it wasn’t good to assume , anyways. the soft bumps of the road were almost relaxing , letting corpse zone out more and forget about the rest of the ride , until they pulled into the trail’s parking lot.   
  
corpse was pulled out of his trance - like state by rae , who reached over and tapped him on the shoulder , causing him to pull out an earbud and look up.   
  
“ hey , loverboy , we’re here. you can get out now , sykkuno’s waiting for ya! “ she said , before hopping out herself.   
  
corpse made a compliant noise and unbuckled , stuffing his phone away in his pocket and stepping out of the car with a sigh.   
  


  
“ corpse! i thought you fell asleep , “ sykkuno said , letting out a little laugh and scurrying up to him. “ i know you were there the whole time, but hi , “ they hummed , smiling up at corpse.   
  
corpse laughed at that , admittedly a tired one. “ hi , sykkuno. no , i didn’t fall asleep. at least , i don’t think i did. did i? “   
  
there was a snicker from sykkuno as they covered their mouth , muffling it. “ no , i don’t think you did. “   
  
“ oh , okay , cool. “   
  
“ well , the others are all ready , and i think we’re gonna be pairing up so we don’t get lost. uh .. “ they trailed off , an almost nervous blush on their face.   
  
“ let me guess , you want me to be your partner? ‘ he stopped suddenly , realizing what he was saying. ‘ n - not like that , though -- just for the hike , right? “ 

that only seemed to heighten the blush on the shorter’s face as they covered it with their hand. “ yeah , yeah. for the hike , you know? you seem nervous , corpse , i don’t bite. i think i’m a nice enough guy to spend an afternoon with. “ another , absolutely adorable laugh.

  
  
“ nice enough guy? bitch , you’re my best friend. i don’t think i’d be here if you weren't a nice enough guy , “ he joked , eye lighting up with a playful smile , which caused sykkuno to laugh again , like they couldn’t help themselves.   
  
“ look , i just -- “   
  
“ come on , you two , stop flirting and get on the trail! “ yvonnie called , which caused corpse to awkwardly blush and sykkuno to turn even more red.   
  
“ yeah , yeah -- “ sykkuno grabbed corpse’s hand tentatively and led him to catch up to the rest of the group , who were twenty feet up the trail already.

  
  
  


the majority of the hike was uneventful for corpse , with sykkuno having their little notebook out and looking for new leaves to put in it. mainly uneventful. 

well , that was how it went until sykkuno apparently saw a little path or something off in the distance and got distracted , going off of the main trail. and of course , corpse followed right after them , heavy footsteps crunching beneath the leaves. “ sykkuno , wait , that’s not the -- “ but they were probably too far away to hear corpse , and he had to end up running to catch up. “ sykkuno -- ! “ he called , catching up to the other. “ what are you doing , this isn’t the right trail -- we have to be with the group , you’re gonna get lost - “  
  
“ come on! what’s wrong with a little exploring? it’s no fun just sticking to the trail , you know. “ they replied , and corpse sighed.   
  
“ okay , but please , please make this quick. “  
  
“ i promise! “  
  
  
  
after a bit of walking ( about 5 minutes or so ) , they came to a clearing , in which flowers and different plants of seemingly all types resided. a lot of them hadn’t wilted , surprisingly , even though it was mid - fall. weird , but oddly peaceful. it was , admittedly , very pretty , even to corpse , and sykkuno seemed _beyond_ excited. “ oh my gosh , corpse -- look at this! “ they exclaimed , and corpse glanced over at the small brunette once more.  
  
“ i know. it really is pretty , huh? i’m assuming there’s some flowers and stuff you want to get. just , please don’t go too far? i don’t want to lose you. “ corpse replied , letting out an almost pleading sigh at the end of his comment.

“ i won’t -- i promise! just follow me for a minute , i want to show you something i think you’ll like - “ they said , grabbing corpse’s hand again and leading him over to a little bush of red roses , all fresh blooms. “ look , you uh , you said you liked roses , right? they’re your favorite? “ sykkuno asked as they walked , leading him up to the bush.

  
“ they are my favorite , you’re right -- oh! “ he took notice of the lovely bush , and sykkuno let go of his hand to go clip one for him , wary of any thorns that may possibly prick either of them.   
  
“ well there’s a whole bush of roses right here! here , i got you one -- “ they said , presenting the fresh rose to corpse. “ i know i can’t press any of these in my notebook , but .. you can have one , you know? i mean .. i know they’re your favorite .. “   
  
“ mhm , they are. thank you , sykkuno .. “ corpse took the rose with a smile , observing it with a soft eye. sykkuno had a good eye for roses , this one was practically perfect … “ thank you again , sykkuno , this is .. really gorgeous , and really sweet too. “   
  
“ o - oh , ahm , it’s nothing , really - i just remembered that you liked roses! “ sykkuno said , awkwardly tucking the hair out of their face with soft , rosy cheeks. god , they were so fucking sweet.

  
a soft laugh , “ .. well , it’s nice that you remembered .. was there anything else that you wanted to get from here? i think the group might be looking for us .. “ he glanced off in the direction they came from , and back to the shorter. “ not to put a damper on the fun , but -- “   
  
“ no , no , actually .. you might be right … i’ll make it quick! i just have one leaf that i need to get , and then we can go right back! alright? “   
  
“ yeah. just give me a call if you need anything , and don’t go far! “ corpse replied as he watched sykkuno run off in the direction of a tree , and jump and reach to try and snag a bundle of leaves , with no luck on their end. ugh , come on , just one --!

  
“ corpse! “ they called , jumping up and down to try and reach the leaves as corpse came over. if they could only just snag one -- why , oh why , did they have to be cursed with being so short --

  
  
“ what’s up? short problems? “ corpse teased , laughing softly at the other’s dismay as he walked up.   
  
“ i’m not short , a - and -- look , i just need you to get that leaf for me .. “   
  
“ alrighty , then. this does seem like a short problem though , for someone who’s four inches shorter than me. “ corpse chuckled as he reached up and plucked a leaf from the tree , handing it to sykkuno who quickly and embarrassingly thanked him , pressing it in an empty page and closing their notebook to press it down , binding it quickly.   
  
“ i’ll , uh , i’ll write for it later -- we should get back , you’re right .. they’re probably looking for us , haha , “ sykkuno mumbled , stuffing away their notebook with a flush on their face and butterflies in their stomach. they set their eyes on another path , pointing to it. “ i think that one leads us back , come on .. “ they mumbled , eyes set down the path as they grabbed corpse’s hand , leading him down whether he wanted to or not. 

  
  
  


the two emerged on a trail in about the same time they got there , but this time in a different spot. oh , oh shit. shit. this wasn’t where they were , fuck , where was everyone , they weren’t really lost , were they -  
  
“ sykkuno! corpse , there you guys are! we were looking for you , where the hell did you guys go? “ toast called out from a distance , and corpse let go of sykkuno’s hand almost instantly , wiping it on his pants nervously.   
  
“ uhh .. well , to put it frankly , sykkuno got distracted by something and ran off down this trail , i just chased after them - “   
  
“ corpse , come on , you can’t pin this whole thing on me .. you could’ve left any time! “ sykkuno struggled to defend themselves , covering their mouth with their hand once more. they bickered for quite a bit , trying to justify themself to the group while corpse shook his head and made the same argument over and over again.   


  
“ .. hey , toast , “ rae whispered , nudging him in the shoulder.   
  
“ huh? “   
  
“ 20 bucks that they kissed back wherever they went. 10 more if they’re secretly dating. “ she whispered , before stepping away from the other.   
  
toast snickered loud enough for corpse to hear. ” you guys , stop fighting , come on! we’ve still got a trail to hike. we’re almost there , keep it up. “

  
  


.. ..

  
  
  


and so went the rest of the hike , with sykkuno rambling to corpse about different plants and things of the like for the majority of the hike while corpse listened , and asked a question every once in a while. the rest of the group had their own conversations , some mixing with each other , topics about genshin , the next group video , if they should vlog this trip , et cetera. as far as corpse was concerned , they weren’t vlogging this because he still didn’t want to do a face reveal. or , at least , that was what they said. he was mainly focused on sykkuno , though , rambling on and on about their plants. he genuinely enjoyed hearing them talk about something they loved , it was almost .. calming. cute in a friendly way. he thought it was amazing they’d found something to be so passionate about.

  
  


not much later , they came along a little clearing with a cliff’s edge , showing the nine of them a lovely view of the lake and some of the lush little islands in it. it was admittedly a nice hike , with all the flora around , and even the sounds of some birds still in the trees. it was a great hike. even with sykkuno’s little detour , it was one of the best trips corpse had had taken in a long while.

“ woah … “ sykkuno mumbled , sitting down on the ledge to take it all in. “ isn’t that pretty … right , corpse? “  
  
“ mhm , “ corpse nodded. _pretty like you , as well_. 

corpse sat down next to sykkuno , taking in the view. it was gorgeous , admittedly. 

“ well , since we’re here , i guess it’s time for a snack break? do you want any water? “ they asked , setting their bag down and fishing out their half - empty bottle of water.   
  
“ uhm , sure .. that’s probably a good idea. gotta stay hydrated , you know , “ he said , taking the bottle and pulling down his mask , taking a good sized sip before capping it and handing it back to sykkuno.   
  
“ yeah , hydration’s key! “ they replied , taking a drink of their own and leaning on his shoulder , relishing the view almost as much as their time with corpse.

  
  
  


god , this was pure bliss.   
  
  
  


.. ..

  
  
  


the rest of the hike back , and the car ride back to their site , was frankly uneventful , with corpse talking with sykkuno on the way back to the car , and the rest of the group talking about their own things , walking all at their own paces. the two of them both talked about .. what was it , new among us strategies? yeah. sharing impostor strategies , funny stories and whatnot. corpse didn’t usually do that with people , but sykkuno was an exception. even if they were both exceptionally good at the game and syk could surely use his strategies against him. 

in the car on the way back , sykkuno found themselves staring at corpse , who was staring out the window , listening to music , watching as the trees whizzed by. like he did on the way there. every time corpse glanced over their way , they would avert their eyes as if they weren’t staring , pretending to just watch the road in front of them instead , or listen to toast and rae’s conversation. they almost couldn’t help it , corpse was just .. so oddly _entrancing_ to stare at , and they found themself observing every one of his features , even when they were covered up by a mask. the long , fluffy black curls that were seemingly never able to be tamed , the one , visible , caramel colored eye , and how comfy the hoodie he was wearing would feel on them. 

he was just - simply nice to look at. nothing more! that was all.

  
  
  


their night carried on with them all deciding to have burgers for dinner , which were also only slightly burnt. it added character , toast said. they were pretty good , still. conversation switched from genshin impact to future hikes , then to what they would do tomorrow , and finally ending onrae pulling up twitter and laughing at fans’ tweets. admittedly , they were all lurkers for the people they followed. 

  
  


slowly , everyone dropped off as it got later and later , the night growing colder and colder. leaving corpse and sykkuno. sitting by the fire. together. and sykkuno clinging onto corpse’s shoulder , again. what the fuck. 

“ .. we should go back soon. we can talk in the tent , if you want to. “ corpse mumbled , leaning slightly closer to sykkuno. 

“ .. it’s warm here , though. do we have to go? can’t we just stay a little longer? “   
  
“ well , if you want , but it is late. we should at least _try_ to get to bed at a reasonable time. and we have blankets for the two of us this time , so we don’t have to .. share. “ 

there was a sigh as sykkuno pulled themselves up from corpse’s shoulder , standing up and stretching. “ .. i guess you’re right , “ they mumbled.   
  
“ yeah. let’s get back , huh , syk? “ corpse stood up and patted them on the back , more sleepy than intentionally affectionate.

  
  


the two of them stumbled back off to their tent , corpse using the flash on his phone to get them back , while rae peered from her tent.   
  
“ they are _totally_ dating. ... toast owes me 30. “   
  
  
.. ..

  
  
  


and here corpse sat. well , the both of them , actually. pretending to sleep , but they couldn’t. sykkuno was rolled over on their side , scrolling through twitter or something. 

look , if they could actually maintain a decent sleep schedule , they would. but their heart thumping out of their chest made it almost impossible , well … last night being an exception. 

  
  


sykkuno continued scrolling , just looking for something to entertain themselves in the darkness while corpse laid facing up , staring at the ‘ ceiling ‘ of the tent , silently taking in all of the noises around him. 

  
  


of course he couldn’t fucking sleep. like always. even with the blankets , it was cold. even with the sounds around him , sykkuno shifting every so often , the soft rustling of the still - awake birds in the distance , and the rustle of grass and leaves every so often. it was calming , yes -- but something was missing. like there was something that he desperately needed , but couldn’t get. like it was just out of reach. 

he wasn’t cold on the outside , he was warm , frankly enough. he felt cold on the inside , though. like there was something he missed so much that he needed. like his heart wasn’t completely filled up. but that was a normal feeling. 

he rubbed his eyes and rolled over onto the side that wasn’t facing sykkuno. 

  
  
  
  


_god , this was going to be a long night_. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi hi!! i hope you enjoyed this second chapter , it is a little longer than the first , but i hope that's okay bc all of the chapters will most likely be around this length now !! 
> 
> sorry for this being out late , too , it took a little longer to edit than i thought XD 
> 
> next chapter will probably be out close to the end of the week? some time around that , possibly on the weekend.
> 
> anyways , i hope you enjoyed , ily all , and thank you for reading !! <33


	3. NOT A CHAPTER - author's note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where i've been and stuff. probably will delete this later idk .

. so . yeah. i haven't been updating this or like any of my other fics uh -- at all. basically the explanation i can formulate for this is :  
  


school sucks ass. like it really sucks ass. ive had to work my ass off for the past couple of weeks so i don't crash and burn , and ive had literally zero time to actually write anything. literally my whole schedule is just wake up - school - eat - school - be too lazy to do anything or maybe write a couple sentences idk - and sleep. writers block has also been kicking my dumb little ass as well! like ! really bad! i feel like shit half the time and i just. cant do anything! i was planning to write over winter break but more shit got in my way and i just. couldnt . so . yeah. 

i should probably provide info onto where i am with all of the stuff i'm writing . so here 

the world is so cold , but you are so warm , my love -- finished chapter 3 and beginning beta reading , starting chapter 4. 

i've been ghosting , ghosting alone -- 3 / 4 of the way done with chapter 2 

keep in mind that the new chapter for the world is so cold will probably be out in the next week or so , every chapter is abt 8k - 10k words and it's hell to read through and beta alone ( my old betaer left me lol ) . if anyone ever wants to help me beta read for anything , my discord is ssleepykkuno#9551 , hit me up if you ever want to beta for me ! i hope you all understand , thank you :] stay safe and i love you!

\- karl <33


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